Vehicle-refueling systems, in which a vehicle is provided with a way of identifying itself to a fuel provider, are known from many years and were published in a plurality of patents and patent applications. For example U.S. Pat. No. 6,497,363; U.S. Pat. No. 6,900,719; and others describe examples of such systems. In those systems an inductive ring is placed around the upper end of the fuel intake pipe of a vehicle. The ring is connected to a radio-frequency-identification (RFID) transponder assembly. The RFID assembly is configured to transmit information regarding the vehicle, owner, charge account number, type of fuel required and the like. The ID information is transmitted via the inductive ring to a receiver, which may be placed on the nozzle of the refueling pipe, and thus relayed to the fuel provider. The inductive ring may comprise a conductive coil that is places around the fuel intake pipe of a vehicle.
The inductive ring is used as an RF antenna for transmitting the ID information. In addition the ring is also used for obtaining RF energy from the refueling pipe. The RF energy is converted to direct-current (DC) and be used as the energy source of the RFID assembly. Other refueling systems may use a button type RFID without using an inductive ring, however those system have a power supply from the vehicle or from a battery.
Such vehicle-refueling systems are popular with organizations that run large fleets of vehicles and they allow vehicle refueling to be carried out without fuss and charged to a central account and for data concerning refueling operations to be collected. Furthermore, those systems can prevent fraud to reduce fuel expenses.
In order to protect the RFID from theft, and to prevent other forms of foul play it is common that the RFID assembly is mounted to the vehicle in a complicated way. Typically, it requires drilling a hole in the vehicle wall near the fuel tank. In some existing vehicle-refueling systems the RFID assembly is installed on the other side of the vehicle wall while a cable passes via a hole connects the RFID assembly with the inductive ring. In other existing systems the RFID assembly is embedded within a unique and complex sleeve that is inserted into the hole and be attached to the vehicle in an irreversible way such that it cannot be pulled out or be broken will it is pulled out.